Arsenal fans will love what Granit Xhaka could do to Man City

Arsenal's title rivals Manchester City travel to Sunderland this evening and Black Cats captain and former Gunners midfielder Granit Xhaka has a chance to aid his former side's title challenge.

The Switzerland skipper will likely lead the Premier League's premier surprise package out as they take on the Cityzens at the Stadium of Light with hopes of fighting their way back into the European spots.

While his primary focus will be to help his current team, there is no doubt Xhaka will also be relishing the idea of helping Arsenal maintain a dominant advantage in the title race and his former side's fans will love if he can have an impact this evening.

Arsenal fans will love what Granit Xhaka could do to Man City

After a mixed first few seasons at Arsenal, Xhaka evolved into a fan favourite under the leadership of Mikel Arteta, becoming a crucial part of the midfield in a side that went from potential mid-table dwellers to European spot, and later title, challengers.

The midfielder already knows what it's like to go up against City for a title and he will know how hard of a challenge the current Gunners squad will have as they look for all the external help they can get. In his final campaign with the north London side, he played a key role in the first bid under Arteta, scoring seven goals and providing seven assists in 37 league appearances.

As Arsenal ultimately failed to see out their challenge, finishing second to the treble-winning City, Xhaka made the decision to leave the club, joining Bayer Leverkusen after scoring two goals in a final farewell at the Emirates.

Following two successful seasons in Germany, the first of which saw an unbeaten Bundesliga winning season, he made a shock move to join newly promoted Sunderland, who made their return to England's top flight after being relegated in 2017.

Having been named captain of the Black Cats, he has helped them have a dream start to the season as they sit seventh after 18 games with hopes of achieving a shock European finish.

As Sunderland hit the halfway point of their campaign, they come up against a City side that are five points behind league leaders Arsenal and looking to close the gap in the title race. Xhaka and the Black Cats have a big task on their hands, not only to maintain their push for Europe, but also to lend the Gunners a helping hand.

Chances of a win are slim with Pep Guardiola's side in fine form, having defeated Sunderland 3-0 just a matter of weeks ago, but they have already managed a few upsets this season. Xhaka will be marching the Black Cats out and will be hoping he can lead them to another shock victory.

A win or a draw for Xhaka and Sunderland, City dropping any points would be absolutely huge for Arsenal and the Swiss international would become even more of a fan favourite in the process.